Step 4: Use the jig, Luke

Step 5: Fill and ship

You can use the jig to estimate and shape your payload. When shipping clothing, I prefer to stuff everything into a Tyvek or zipper seal bag. It keeps...

This is my first instructable. I invite feedback, coaching, and correction.

My wife finally started selling stuff on the internet. One of the big things that distinguishes sellers is shipping costs. If what you are selling (in our case used boutique baby clothes) is heavier that 13oz. you have a lot of options* of how to ship. The same package could cost you $8.60, $10.95, or $4.75 depending how smart you pack it. I was able to package 2 shipments by hand in about 40 minutes. Once I made the jig I could do it in 3 minutes flat.

* Technically you have one les option, since the cut-off for the cheaper first class mail is 13oz. If you can ship first class, you should. It's the best value. So, for packages 13ox and under, I think there is really only 1 choice.

I use a similar method, often. The envelope will hold more than twice as much as the small box, for the same price. Since it is priority - if the items you're shipping are heavy and/or small - the priority tape is at your disposal; use it liberally. This will keep prying eyes and hands out of the envelope and avoid it "accidentally" breaking open. I mummify my shipping packages at USPS, since I've had bad experiences with them "losing" much of the contents in a USPS facility. Use the electronic kiosk to avoid hassle from nosy USPS employees and speed the process of shipping. I use my phone to shoot a picture of the label before shipping for easy tracking and to send to the recipient.

I love the ingenuity and will give this a try. According to USPS.com's flat rate priority mail page: "Shipping shouldn’t take a lot of time and guesswork. With Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes and Envelopes, if it fits, it ships® anywhere in the U.S.* for a low Flat Rate. And no need for those zone maps."

If you have any problems with USPS, please feel free to contact us at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lillian-Zs-Boutique/147885465279821 and post on our wall. We will answer back within 24 hours.

Also,

You may submit complaints to grievance through the USPS site. It WORKS! Your local USPS will NOT like this. =D Make sure you leave your actual information when filing a complaint so when your local post office calls you to discuss any matters, you can actually go in and let them see your face. Next time, they will know better than to mess with you!

If you get something non-hazardous weighing less than 70 lbs (Keep in mind that a solid block of lead would only be 77 lbs) to fit into an intact USPS Flat Rate shipping container and seal it with an approved means, they will ship it. Your local PO is a stickler for policy. They are very unforgiving about it and that's why they seem like such jerks. (Mine is the same way.) Their policy states that my first sentence in this comment is true. They will follow their policy to the letter. If you doubt it, try it. If you have a problem, take down names.

Thanks! I've been receiving mostly negative feedback based on people's bad experiences with their post offices. I suspect those experiences are unrelated to flat rate shipping packages also.

The fact of the matter is this:This method works for stuffing the maximum content into the cheapest container.If your contents fit and weight less than 70lbs, they will ship it in these flat rate packages.

I don't know about your post office, but here in NYC, you will be subject to the 20-question barrage "Is there anything hazardous, perishible, liquid, flammable....Insurance, confirmation....Would you like a book a stamps?" to include getting a speech on those are flat, meaning flat document, flat-rate mailers, you must repackage that to mail at the regular rate because you can't use an official flat rate mailing box to ship anything other than flat flat-rate. Now get back in the line after you repackage that to be subject to the same line of questioning again. I guess don't try to send anything fragile as it will get it hung up in the high-speed processing machines and your package will get there when it gets there.

I buy postage online. It's built right into PayPal, so you don't even have to copy the shipping address. I can leave it in my mailbox with the flag up or drop it in the box at the PO downtown when I go to work and that shaves a day off the ETA. Honestly I don't care how long it takes. I'm not the recipient. It's cheap and it's easy. No need for negativity. It's really a pretty pleasant experience.